An international symposium entitled Virulence Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogens will[unreadable] be held September 6-8, 2006 in Ames, Iowa. The objectives and specific aims of this[unreadable] international symposium are relevant to the mission of NIAID. Internationally recognized[unreadable] authorities will present overviews on the wide variety of mechanisms used by bacterial[unreadable] pathogens to infect mucous surfaces; enter the host through those surfaces; multiply in the[unreadable] environment of the host; interfere with host defenses; and damage host tissues. They will also[unreadable] present strategies the host uses to overcome these bacterial virulence mechanisms. Infectious[unreadable] diseases involving bacterial pathogens are still prevalent. Both acute and chronic bacterial[unreadable] diseases continue to have a high economic burden on the private and national health care[unreadable] systems. A better understanding of these mechanisms will lead to more effective approaches to[unreadable] prevent or treat infectious bacterial diseases improving public health. A monograph based on[unreadable] this symposium, entitled Virulence Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogens, Fourth Edition, will be[unreadable] published by the American Society for Microbiology in 2007. All registrants will receive a copy[unreadable] of the monograph. The symposium will be organized under the following topics:[unreadable] ? Introduction and overview[unreadable] ? Virulence genes[unreadable] ? Pathogenic microbial communities[unreadable] ? Bacterial attachment, invasion, and colonization[unreadable] ? Bacterial effects on host cells[unreadable] ? Innate and adaptive resistance to pathogens[unreadable] ? Concluding perspective[unreadable] Attendees are invited to submit abstracts for poster presentations. The symposium is intended[unreadable] as a source of information for molecular biologists wanting an understanding of how molecular[unreadable] mechanisms relate to the disease process; infectious disease specialists wanting to add to their[unreadable] understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of pathogenesis; researchers attempting to[unreadable] elucidate pathogenic mechanisms in bacterial diseases that are not yet well characterized;[unreadable] industry scientists wishing to identify promising approaches to disease prevention and therapy;[unreadable] and faculty and graduate students wishing to gain an overview of the subject.